Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by garthwaite:

Sampled from a pint glass at the brewpub. In the glass, this one was a clear light golden with a long lasting frothy white head that laced beautifully. Clean peppery aroma with biscuit & herbs. Aggressive herbal hop flavors blend deliciously with pale malts. Lemon & honey in front with bold peppery hops in back. Medium to full bodied (especially for a pils), this one is both creamy & highly carbonated. Bitterness & hop flavor are largely muted in the finish which has some mineral hints. I enjoy the heck out of this brew (in small doses).

12oz bottle. Pours a rich bright golden beer, topped with a rocky, large bubbled head and clinging lace.

Light herbal aromas, some metallic, light fruits and bready grain.

A very rich, thick, smooth and even body. Deceiving for its appearance. Very sweet and malty on the palate with an immediate grape juice flavor. Big, head warming alcohol flavor (feels and tastes like cheap vodka) with a spicy tingle on the palate, which melds well with a spicy herbal, and touch of citric rind, hop character and bitterness. Big fruity burst in the middle, followed by a big breadiness after the beer peaks, and especially as the beer warms up. Dry and lingering at the finish, with some hops, sweetness and gritty husks in the residuals.

Essentially a craft-brewed Malt Liquor and a very aggressive beer all-around. Watch yer ass on this one.

Smell: Super spicy hop with a thick fresh cut grass aroma, very fresh and very aromatic.

Taste: Quick to the bitterness with a solid underlying maltiness, the hops are all over the place with bitterness and a spicy herbal flavor. The malt lays down a biscuity honey character with a warming alcohol in tow. The finish is a long drawn out trail of hops and more hops with a tingling alcohol in the back of the mouth.

Notes: This beer sets the ground for Imperial Pilsners so tasty and so drinkable it is dangerous.

Nice looking brew. It's clear yellow golden, looking alot like your average lager. Very clear with a nice frothy snow white head. The aroma is full of hops & alcohol - a very nice mix. Piney scents, citrousy grapefruits, all sorts of great hop aromas. Taste is a "wollop" of hops, backed by some resemblance of biscuity malt. Piney resins, sweet citrous flavors and a hefty dose of bitterness, all joined by a warming alcohol. This is not the vodka type alcohol flavors found in some beers, rather a very welcome addition. Mouthfeel is clean, yet nice & sticky when it comes to the hops. Aftertaste is all bitter hops & flavors. Very drinkable stuff - even at 8.5%, this will be grteat on a hot day. Very Refreshing!! A great beer from dominion, and a must try for any hop head.

Shit! That was one incredible brew. Thanks to BGreezy and garthwaite for sending this spectacular beer.

Appearance is typical of a decent pilsner--clear golden color, small white head. Head didn't last, died down to a film that added a bit of lacing to the glass. Aroma is strong of grass and bread. I'm not a hop expert, but I believe it's Saaz that figures prominently in the hop bill. There's a bit of fruitiness in the aroma, that is prominent in the taste. This is a very champagne-like beer in taste. A bit like Asti-Spumanti only with a bit of bitterness. Pear is very prevalent in the flavor. Flavor is like having bread with pear jam and honey. Mouthfeel is much better than a champagne--not as bubbly, and much smoother (and probably isn't as likely to induce a hangover). It is a very drinkable high alcohol beer--definitely doesn't taste like it's 8.5% alcohol.

Had this on tap at the Brewpub in Ashburn Va. This is a slightly hazy golden yellow color with about an inch of off white head. The aroma was fairly light with doughy malts and grassy hops coming through as well as grainy notes. The taste starts off with a sharp piney hop flavor that is joined by a grainy and dough malt backbone. There is a bit spice to the flavor and various fruit flavor going on. Definitely well hopped and bitter but balanced nicely for a great complex flavor, too bad the smell didnt stand out more. The alcohol was minimally noticeable but I definitely felt it after 3 of these. Mouthfeel is great with a medium body and good carbonation and it is very smooth drinking. Excellent beer I cant believe I have not tried it earlier, since I live 10 minutes from the brewpub, I will definitely be going back there with the intention of getting more of this before its gone.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed 3/4" of white head, which made for excellent foamy lace over the clear, straw colored brew. Aroma is a slight yeasty aroma, but that's about all I get, for better or worse. Taste is pale malts upfront, balanced with some rough hops character, working out to a pleasant combination. Mouthfeel is great, and drinkability is even better, scarily enough for the alcohol content, which was well hidden, I might add...

Clear light golden color with a nice creamy white head, good carbonation, and clumpier lace than the draft version. Nice prominent Saaz hop aroma ... a bit earthy, lemony, and grassy all at the same time. Flavor is fairly balanced with solid maltiness but a bit more bitter than I recall with the draft version. Mouthfeel is very close to full with nice creaminess but finishes fairly bitter.

This was cloudy and an orange amber color. The beer cleared up after it warmed. Thinning head of foam that left no lacing. The aroma has spicy alcohol notes, light liqueur like malts, curacao and lemon zest. The taste is bold  malty and weighty. Bittersweet, resinous and fruity. Lemon zest with a spicy alcohol finish. Tangy. Not bad, but tastes young. This could be one that improves with age.

Very nice double. It's my first, but I can guess how the style is represented in this one quite well. The taste was a nice fruity/floral "arrangement", with a malt backbone and a hint of hops. The taste did start off a little hoppy, but then subsided to the fruits and malts. Nice cloudy straw color with a nice white head. Very smooth on the palate. Couldn't tell the high alcohol in the beer at all, which could get dangerous. It was a refreshing brew that quenched the thirst.

Sampled at the brewpub, was happy to see that they still had some this far into the year. I had heard a lot about this and have had pleasant experiences with Rogue's and Clipper City's "uber" pilseners, so I was pretty geeked up to try it.

Looks like you'd expect it to look; slightly darker than what I would call straw colored with a bit of fluffy white head. A sweet malt smell emanates from the glass in a perfect balance with the aroma of hops. The balance in the taste is just about perfect, with the hops leading the charge but the malt quick to follow. Just as good on a hot summer day as I asume it would be on a crisp and clear and spring evening.

I could drink this all day -- I had no idea that it was 8.5% abv until I sat down to write this review. Glad I didn't have a second one before driving home!

The beer poured crystal clear pale golden straw. The head was white and laced the glass.

The aroma was malty with slight hops and a sulphur/DMS note.

The flavor was crisp and malty with a substantial hop backbone. The hops are clean and well done, not overpowering the beer, but leaving an impression of a formidable hopping rate. The hops balance the malt well in the complex flavors.

The finish was just barely off dry and hop bitter. The body was medium.

It drinks like a champ, but the sulphur aroma brings what promises to be a very lofty beer, back down to earth.

Dull nose of pale toasty malts, whole grains, and some slight grassy/herbal hops; some berry/fruit-like undertones are in there as well. It's quite fresh and inviting, albiet a bit subdued overall. Tough nose to put a number on. It seemed weaker at most points, but nearer the bottom of the glass it livened up by a good portion with a more substantial fruityness.

Fantastic flavors here, well balanced, fresh, clean, smooth, sweet, slightly fruity, yet set back a bit, with a malty mouth full upon first entering with a great cleanliness and well rounded character. Next ensues the hop additions with blended German style toasty freshness; calm yet flavored and stacked well with inviting herbalness and grasses. Very fresh, mineral laden, toasty warm, with some Saaz-like spices and lighter fruity things pop and go inbetween. Quite a complex amount of things going on here, more so then what I may be able to percieve. Its wonderfully dry at the finish with a fluffy texture and an almost nose clearing floral freshness and alcoholic spicyness float up through the palate and beyond into the sensory units of the nose. Quite intriguing and even fun to behold. It reminded me of what some barleywines can accomplish with its character. A good quality to have IMO.

Feel is quite nice, nearly full with a good backing of malts that aren't over done, yet big and bold enough to stand out as a main character in this play of a brew. It's very fresh, clean, smooth, and just plain yummy! Favorable little crisp edgyness to it with a nice toasty bread dryness in the finish with herbal hops thrown in. Yum! This is a fine brew eh. Nearly perfect! Big thanks to ManekiNeko for throwin' this in!

Flavor is outstanding with two distinct levels of flavor going on. It's like a Bach symphony employing tonal counterpoint. Flavors playing harmoniously in a round yet quite distinct on their own. In the first melody I get a sweet creamy malty lager akin to Paulaner Original Munich *fresh in my mind as I had it the other day*. The second melody which dominates the finish is grassy, spicy, saazy Pilsner. A touch of warming alcohol just adds some dissonance to the piece to keep it interesting, but in keeping with the Bach theme we'll call it a trill in the original melody.

Mouthfeel is splendid and the drinkability is perfect for this warm it's way to early to be summer but it feels like it spring day!

Cheers to ManekiNeko for the hook-up.
Old Dominion has a winner for this year's spring brew, they need to either make it a regular offering or lock it in as a Spring/Summer seasonal!

Though the beer is characteristic of a pilsner, it is far too confused with the helles style from which this originates. The hop combo clashes, the yeast isn't neutral enough, and the alcohol is obnoxious.

This beer poured a yellow straw color that at first pour was crystal clear and on the last pour it looked to have a slight chill haze to it, and was well carbonated. The head that was created was a slight off white color, consistency of a cloud, bubbly, creamy and foamy, some lasting time after a decent pour then falling to a skim on the surface. There was lace present but generally spotty foam in some areas. The aromas were rather light, wisps of malt, fresh hops and hay, herbs and spices, some pine needles, a citrus bite at times and seemed to end with a bread note. The flavors were more pronounced and flavorful. Tastes of light malts, pine trees, citrus hops all dominate, light spices and some fruit show up in the middle then slides in with touches of alcohol and ends with a bread note. Warming and kind of thick in the mouth at the end as well. There were hoppy pine tree notes as an aftertaste. The body over all was on the light/medium side. Overall feel of the beer was watery and an easy drink. A fresh and refreshing beer that is named well  Spring Brew. A good drink, a smooth drink.

Hazed deep golden appearance. Good sized dirty white head. Lacing is full and complete. Nice nose. Soft malts and spicy hops. Nice taste as well. Nice mellow malts lay a decent foundation, but the hops seem to be the story here. Great bitterness. Nice bite. And the hop flavor is full of cracked pepper, floral tones and spiciness in general. Mouthfeel is appropriately carbonated. Fairly prickly in the mouth. And the body is about medium-full. This is a tasty concoction. My 3rd Imperial Pilsener to date. Better than Rogue's. Not quite as good as Granite City's.

A dark, clear golden colour with a nice white head that comes and goes. An enticing aroma of czech saaz hops and earthy, yet subtle malts. The taste is a nice, high abv blend, of spicy hop flavor, chewy malt notes, and some alcoholic flare. The mouthfeel is thin, but appropriately so and the drinkability is very good for a beer of this style. Good stuff.

Pours a sparklingly clear golden yellow with a nice fluffy head as white new snow. It could the poster child for what a lager/pilsner should look like. Smell is mainly a grassy-citrus hop smell. However, as hoppy is this beer is, their is enough of a malty almost champagne biscuit dough flavour to balance it out. The finish is crisp and dry. Mouthfeel is great with enough carbonation not not as prickly as some pilsners. Drinkability is super too. This beer is so refreshing that you could down it all night. Of course when the 8.5% catches up with you .... Overall a stellar job from the guys at Old Dominion. With this and the Oak Barrel stout Old Dominion might be moving up the craft brew ladder.

It pours a clear golden yellow with a thin head. It has a nice looking color, but the lack of head makes it look almost average fortunatley this is not the case. There is some grainy malt in the aroma as well as herbal hops and some citrus (lemon) zest. There is a slight sweet maltiness and some spritzy lemon zest in the taste. There is some good body to stand up to the bitterness, but it still seems appropriately light. I barley notice the ABV, making this a dangerous brew. It finishes with a big lingering bitterness. It is quite refreshing.